The Restore the Shore project is bringing back the health of the estuary in Squamish for today’s community and future generations. It will restore vitally important habitats of endangered Chinook salmon, a keystone species to local ecosystems, and critically important to the community and our way of life. It is also an act of reconciliation for the Skwxkwú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation), the original stewards and knowledge-keepers of this land, and the wildlife that has thrived here in the past.

The Restore the Shore project is being led by a collective, including the Skwxkwú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation), Squamish River Watershed Society and Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

It is being generously funded by partners including the Coastal Restoration Fund, Pacific Salmon Foundation and the BC Hydro Fish & Wildlife Compensation Program (FWCP).

The berm was put into the Squamish River estuary for industrial purposes, including a proposed coal port in 1971 that was never built, without consideration for the impact it would have on the flow of water, the habitat it provides and the ecosystem that thrives there. Consequently salmon stocks have plummeted from 100,000s to 10,000s as the estuary provides a safe haven and protective nursery for juvenile salmonids, along with the interconnected ecosystem including Southern Resident orcas, bears, eagles, dolphins and birds. It is also an act of reconciliation for the Skwxkwú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation), the original stewards and knowledge-keepers of this land, and the wildlife that has thrived here in the past. 

It is the berm itself that is specifically and negatively impacting the flow of water, the habitat it provides and the ecosystem that thrives there. Without modifying the berm, it will be nearly impossible for the Squamish River estuary to return to the thriving ecosystem that it was prior to the construction of the berm. The project team will integrate the new end of the berm into the natural landscape.

The first 300 metres of the berm was modification January-April 2022. Work to deconstruct the final 550 metres of the berm begins mid February, 2023.